Hallie Grace
by bookworm1478
Summary: When Chris' little sister is injured, the Seven come to her aid while Chris helps her fight her other demons. AU
1. Chapter 1

The morning had slowly drifted into afternoon with no phone calls; no clients; nothing. With the others out for the day, Vin and Buck settled on Chris' couch to watch the sports network. Buck had just settled in with a beer and sandwich when the phone rang. It was Chris' main line and not the office line. Buck let the answering machine get it.

_You've reached 555-0178. Leave a message. _

"Chris, it's Cassy Whitlock from Mercy. I know you screen your calls, but if you're there I need to speak with you." There was a pause. "Chris, it's urgent. Your sister's in the hospital."

Buck dropped his sandwich on the coffee table, jumped over the couch and grabbed the phone. "Cassie, it's Buck Wilmington. You said Hallie Grace is in the hospital."

"Yes," Cassie answered him. "She was brought in about an hour ago with injuries from a car accident. The only reason I knew to call Chris was a picture in her wallet with a phone number on it. It's an old phone number so I'm glad I knew the new one."

Buck swallowed against the lump in his throat that could have been a piece of sandwich or grief at picturing Hallie Grace in the hospital. Neither he nor Chris had seen her in four years. She hadn't bothered to come to the funerals of Sarah or Adam.

"I'm on my way," Buck said and waited on the line long enough for Cassie to give him the room number.

After hanging up, he grabbed his jacket off the back of the couch.

"What's going on?" Vin asked, looking up from the game on TV.

Buck palmed his keys. "Find Chris and have him meet me at Mercy. Tell 'im it's Hallie Grace."

"Who's Hallie Grace?" Buck heard Vin ask before he shut the door.

Buck came off the elevator on the third floor in a huff. The entire way to Mercy he thought about the last time he saw Hallie. She was taking a job out of state. She sent him a letter from her home in Texas. When Sarah and Adam were killed in the car explosion, Buck went in search of her to no avail. Now, out of the blue, she was here and in the hospital.

"Buck," Cassie Whitlock met him at the nurse's station. Buck remembered when she and Chris had dated. It was one date, with only a promise of friendship and not another date. Both had accepted the deal quite well and Cassy had turned out to be a pretty good informer when they needed information on a case. All the guys were familiar with her. "She's in room 325," Cassie explained as they walked down the corridor.

"What exactly happened?" Buck asked as they walked.

"EMT's were called to a scene of a car accident. Her car went over an embankment." They stopped in the doorway and Buck looked in to see Hallie's body illuminated by a soft light coming through the blinds. "She has a couple cracked ribs, a black eye, some cuts on her hands where the glass shattered. Her left ankle was trapped and it's bruised pretty badly but not broken. The worst of it involves the head injury that occurred when she hit the windshield. We'll have to run more tests when she regains consciousness."

Buck swallowed against the lump in his throat. His eyes stayed on Hallie the entire time Cassie ran down the injuries. "Is she in a coma?"

"No, just sleeping. We'll know more when she wakes up." Cassie rested her hand against Buck's arm for only a few seconds before removing it. "Let me know when Chris arrives so I can talk to him." Cassie left, her doctor's coat swaying against her black skirt.

Buck entered the hospital room and grabbed a chair that stood in the corner of the room next to the room's individual heater. Buck set it down next to her hospital bed and took the first good look at her he'd had in four years. Her strawberry blonde hair was clipped close to her jawline; it had been against her shoulders the last time he saw her. The black eye didn't hinder the beauty of her face. Hallie Grace had always been a beautiful girl; her face always brightened by a smile while her green eyes danced. Buck watched an IV drip an undisclosed clear liquid into a tube that disappeared into white tape and gauze on her hand. Her right hand lay limp against the hospital blanket. Instead of grasping it like he wanted to, Buck covered it with his own. It was warm. "Hey, Hallie Grace, you just sleep now ok. I'm right here and Chris will be here soon."


	2. Chapter 2

Buck hadn't been sitting with Hallie more than an hour when Chris came barreling into the room. He stood at the edge of Hallie's bed and then looked at Buck. "What happened to her?"

"Cassie said there was a car accident. She's banged up pretty bad, Chris, but she'll be all right."

Chris wiped his hand over his face. "I haven't seen her in four years and now. . ." His sentence was cut off when Cassie walked into the room.

"I saw you from the hallway. Chris, Hallie's going to be all right. She has some cuts, bruises and a head injury from hitting the windshield, but she's going to be all right. As the doctor in charge of the case, I've gotten a couple phone calls from the police wanting to talk to her. Would you like to talk to them?" Cassie held out a business card with a number scrawled on it.

Chris stared at Hallie Grace.

Buck stood. "I'll round up one of the others and take care of it." He patted Chris on the back. "I'll come back when we're finished."

* * *

Buck picked Vin up at the house and they drove out to the road where Hallie had her accident. Two police cars were still positioned on the other side of the road so traffic wouldn't be impeded.

Buck got out of the car and followed Vin to the two police officers. They flashed their ID and got nods from both cops. "We're from Seven Investigations," Buck explained.

An unmarked police car pulled in behind the tow truck and Buck recognized the man that got out of the car as Detective Martin Smithers.

"Buck," The detective shook hands with Buck.

Vin extended his hand. "Vin Tanner."

"Detective Martin Smithers. What are you two doing out here?"

Buck nodded toward the car. "The car belongs to Hallie Larabee."

"Larabee? As in Chris," Martin asked, scratching his chin. "She's okay?"

"Bruised and cut up, but the doctor said she's going to be fine. Vin and I came out to see what happened. Chris stayed back with his sister. Do you mind if we take a look around?"

Martin nodded. "The officers reported it as an accident," Martin told Buck as Vin walked down the road past the tow truck and unmarked car. "She lost control of her car and went over an embankment. Officers put it at twenty minutes before an ambulance showed up."

"Who called it in?" Buck asked as he watched Vin sprint up the hill.

"Passing motorist called 911. We'll want to talk to Miss Larabee when she wakes up." Both men turned toward Hallie's car, which was being pulled out of the embankment.

A high pitched whistle caught both their attentions. Buck turned to see Vin waving his arms at them. He had walked or sprinted to the top of the hill where a car couldn't be seen coming from either direction until a person topped the hill. They made it to Vin who was crouched down pointing at some dark tire tracks. "What do you have?" Buck asked, leaning down beside Vin.

"There was a car behind Hallie's car." Vin pointed at the darkened tire tracks. "Following really close by the look of the tire tracks. She didn't go over the embankment on her own."

Martin said, "Drunk driver. Probably was too scared to stop and check. I'll have my guys mark it." Martin turned and waved his hand in the air. "At least the officers can handle this. I got a homicide call not far from here which is why I stopped. A guy shot in the back of the head and dumped. Fresh bullet wound and a 911 caller that evidently saw it all. Only we can't find the 911 caller."

"I'm not thinking drunk driver," Vin said. He walked down the hill and caught the tow truck driver as he was hooking Hallie's car up to his rig. "Look at the fender of her car." Vin pointed to the dents on the fender. "Another car knocked into her and forced her down the embankment."

"Someone wanted to kill Hallie Grace," Buck said.

* * *

She screamed causing Chris to jump out of the chair he was sleeping in. Hallie was sitting up in bed, tears streaming down her bruised face.

"Aw, honey," Chris got up from the chair and sat down at the edge of the bed. He pulled his sister into his arms. "It's okay," He whispered. He could feel her body shaking against him. Hallie grabbed at his shirt, fisting it in her hands. "You're all right," Chris said again.

"He killed him, Chris," Hallie said in a deathly low voice. "Arnoldo killed him."

Chris eased Hallie off of him so he could see her face. He smoothed his hand over her forehead pushing away a shock of strawberry blonde hair. "What are you talking about, Hallie Grace?" Chris studied her face. The black eye looked worse and made her unbruised left eye look bigger. She was still trembling beneath his fingers. "Hallie, don't shut down on me now. Who is Arnoldo? Who did he kill?"

"Arnoldo killed him, Chris. He shot him." She buried her face in Chris' chest and he felt her hot tears soak through to his skin.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

It took twenty minutes for Chris to get Hallie Grace settled down enough without having her medicated. He had never known her to be this hysterical and now she was practically hyperventilating. By the time, he got her calmed down, Buck and Vin had arrived. Both of them looked grim.

"Hi, Buck," Hallie greeted him with a wan smile.

"Hi, darlin'." He cleared his throat. "We need to talk, don't we?"

She nodded and cast a glance toward Vin. "Who are you?"

"Vin Tanner, Hallie." Vin nodded his head slightly. "Someone drove you into the embankment, didn't they?"

"Yes," Hallie put her hand to her eye and winced. She used the same hand to push hair away from her face. "I think Arnoldo Medina tried to have me killed because I saw him kill a man."

Chris looked to Buck, Vin, and then back at Hallie. "Who is Arnoldo Medina?"

Hallie cleared her throat and Vin handed her the glass of water on his side of the bed. She took a sip through the straw and he set it down on the table. "We were seeing each other for two years. I thought he was a nice guy until I walked in on him killing a man."

"Who was it, Hallie?" Chris asked.

"Nicholas Egan. He worked as an accountant for Arnoldo." She turned to Chris. "I don't know why it happened, Chris. Nic's been to the house so many times and there wasn't any bad blood between them. It happened so fast."

"You called 911?" Buck asked.

Hallie nodded. "I had just gotten off the cell phone when the car bumped me from behind. The third time I lost control of the car and went over the embankment."

Buck shifted his weight and squeezed Hallie's covered foot. "They have you on record as making the 911 call. It won't be long before Smithers is here to speak to you and that means Arnoldo will find you shortly after that," Buck explained.

"Then we get her out of here." Chris stood and took his cell phone out of his pocket. "Stay with her while I make some arrangements."

As Chris started out, Hallie called his name. He turned. "I'm sorry, Chris," Hallie said softly. Chris didn't answer her; instead he walked out.

Chris had everything happening fast. In thirty minutes, he was back with a wheelchair and Cassy on his heels.

Hallie eased up in bed, biting her lip at the pain in her side. "What's going on?"

"We're getting you out of here," Chris said. He set the wheelchair beside the bed and handed Hallie some clothes. "Cassy's going to help you change. We'll be outside when you're ready."

"Where am I going?" Hallie asked as she took the clothes handed to her.

"To my house," Chris answered and left with Buck and Vin.

"What's the plan?" Vin asked as they stepped out of the hospital room and closed the door to give Hallie privacy.

"Nathan and Josiah are at the house checking on security. J.D.'s at the police station keeping tabs on things. Ezra's around getting information on Medina.

"We let her talk to Smithers?" Buck asked.

Chris shook his head. "He's a good cop and it won't take him long to realize Hallie made that call. Let him come to us. We're not going to hand information over until we know everything. Right now I wa-." Chris was cut off by the door opening. Cassy wheeled Hallie out in a pair of jeans, red t-shirt and blue baseball cap.

"She's all ready and I gave her some pain meds."

"Thank you, Doctor Whitlock," Hallie said and offered her bruised hand.

Cassy accepted it. "You're welcome. Be careful all of you."

Buck took hold of Hallie's wheelchair. "Ready for a ride, darlin'." He raced the wheelchair down the corridor and into an open elevator.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Neither brother nor sister said anything on the twenty-five minute trip from the hospital. Hallie would see Chris occasionally glance in his rear view mirror and then straight ahead at the road before them.

When Chris pulled down the long driveway of his home, Hallie stared at the white framed ranch house that she hadn't seen in four years. It looked the same. The perennials Sarah planted when she was pregnant with her second child were out in full bloom and gave the house the feminine look despite the only male occupant that now lived in it.

Chris pulled up as close to the front step as he could and Hallie watched a man come out the front door. He opened her door for her and offered her a hand.

"My name's Nathan, Hallie." He smiled at her and it lit up his face. "Let me help you down now. Easy." With Nathan holding her hand and supporting her elbow, Hallie eased out of the SUV's seat and onto the ground. She sucked in a breath when her feet hit the gravel driveway.

"You can breathe now," Nathan said when her feet were on the ground. Hallie smiled at him and waited for him to close the SUV's door before she walked inside. The three steps onto the porch weren't difficult at all because of how small they were. She heard Chris behind her talking to Vin and Buck. Another man opened the door. He nodded at her as she walked in.

"This is Josiah Sanchez, Hallie." Nathan introduced them as he followed her in.

"Nice to meet you," Hallie said and let out another breath as her feet hit the comfort of a rug. "Can I have the spare bedroom?"

"Yeah," Chris said. It was the first word he had spoken to her since they left the hospital. "It's. ."

"Down the hall, last door on the right, across from the bathroom. I remember."

"I'll give you ten minutes and then we need to talk." Hallie heard him say as she made her way to the spare bedroom.

The spare bedroom used to be called Hallie's room when she would visit once or twice a month. That was before Adam and Sarah were killed and before that horrible night that occurred in the same bedroom. Her wish was always to change two things: the day Sarah and Adam died and that horrible night a year before that. Neither of which she knew could possibly be changed.

The spare bedroom was still painted yellow and still looked cheery. Hallie closed the door behind her and sat down on the bed. Her chest and her head hurt her. She wanted to sleep so she laid back on the bed trying to get into a comfortable position to sleep. Just as she found it, there was a knock on the door and the door opened.

"Can I come in?" Chris asked. Hallie sat up and grabbed her waist when a pain hit. "I can get you the pain meds." He asked as he pulled a chair up from the small desk in the corner.

Hallie shook her head. "I'm sorry about Sarah and Adam, Chris."

He hung his head and she heard him say, "Why didn't you come to the funerals?"

Why? Because she was out of the country; because she let her embarrassment over an action the previous year rule out over common sense. In the end, she went with the first excuse. "I was out of the country on assignment. By the time, Buck's message got to me in India, a month had passed. I'm so sorry, Chris." She extended her hand and waited for him to take it; hoping, was more the word. He took it and she squeezed. Still holding her hand, Chris came over and sat next to her on the bed. The movement hurt her ribs, but she didn't say anything. Her brother was here with her. "I miss them every day." Hallie said, letting the tears fall. "I miss being a sister-in-law. I miss being an aunt."

Chris squeezed her shoulders. "I know." He let up on her shoulders and Hallie sat up straight. She swiped at the tears on her cheeks and rubbed them on Cassy's jeans. "We need to talk about Arnoldo, don't we?"

Chris nodded.

Hallie let out a breath. "I met him while I was on a photo assignment in Pamplona. He was there for the running of the bulls while I was there to shoot it. We saw each other every night I was in Pamplona. We e-mailed and talked on the phone while I was finishing work out of the country and he was in the states. When I flew back into the states, we began dating."

"The few times you called me you never mentioned Arnoldo," Chris told her.

Hallie shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I didn't want to jinx it by telling anyone. Arnoldo knew about you. . .and Buck. When I found out Arnoldo had business in Washington, it was a perfect time for us to drive out and see you. I surprised him at the rental house." She shook her head. "I guess in retrospect that wasn't a good idea. The fury in Arnoldo's eyes when he shot Nicholas. . . I had never seen him like that. He killed a man I thought he considered a friend." The tears fell fresh against her cheeks.

Chris put his arm around her. "I'm sorry, Hallie. I need the address of the rental property, Hallie." Chris took out his PDA and Hallie typed in the rental address while sniffling. "What happens now?" She asked as she handed him the PDA.

"We-" His sentence was cut off when someone knocked on the door and opened it. Buck stood in the doorway.

"Smithers is here. Are we handing this over or taking care of it ourselves?" Hallie recognized the furious look in Buck's eyes. He was wanting to take care of it himself.

"I'll talk to him," Hallie said, standing. "I'm a Larabee right and we're tough."

"Darn right you are," Chris said and gave her a smile.

* * *

Instead of the house, Martin Smithers had been redirected into the offices of Seven Investigations which was an addition to the Larabee house. The room was large with four desks arranged in each corner of the room. There were two more rooms off from the main room which Martin knew held a desk each. Vin Tanner had escorted him to the offices and now stood with a bottle of water in his hand. When Martin wasn't asked about refreshments, he knew it wasn't going to be an easy trip.

Chris walked in the office through the outside door. Hallie Larabee was sandwiched in between her brother and Buck; protecting her even from the police.

"Hello, Hallie." Martin extended his hand. "I'm Detective Martin Smithers with the D.C. police." Buck and Chris moved away from her. Seconds later, Josiah Sanchez and Ezra Standish came into the office through the same door. Both stayed near the main door. "I'll get right to the point," He said, as he stuck his hands in his pockets. "We have an identity on our dead man and we were able to get a fix on the 911 caller so I guess you know why I'm here. You called 911 about Nicholas Egan being killed?"

"Yes," Hallie said.

"Who killed him, Miss Larabee?"

"A man named Arnoldo Medina killed Nic. He was an accountant for Arnoldo."

Martin nodded. "How do you know Arnoldo Medina?"

Hallie licked her dry lips. Vin handed her a fresh bottle of water. Hallie unscrewed the top, took a sip, and put the top back on the bottle. "We've been seeing each other for close to two years. Arnoldo dabbles in a little bit of everything; purchases and sells a lot so Nic was always close by. He was a good man, Detective Smithers. I don't know why Arnoldo killed him."

Martin nodded and watched a look pass between Buck and Chris that he understood very well. They were going to close ranks on Hallie very soon. "Miss Larabee, you've witnessed a murder and are therefore my only witness. I'd like to put you in protective custody until Mister Medina is arrested and convicted. You understand you will have to testify?"

"Yes, I do and I will, but I won't go into protective custody. Arnoldo won't hurt me with my brother and his friends close."

"Miss Larabee, if Medina killed once he will kill again. You're putting your brother and his friends in serious danger."

"That's enough!" Chris practically shouted.

"Nice guilt trip there, Smithers." Vin said, with a slight southern drawl. He took a swig of his water.

"She's not going anywhere until Medina is in prison. You want her in protective custody," Chris drew his finger around the room landing on four of the seven men. "We're her protective custody. Call us when you have Medina in custody and we'll bring Hallie in to give her statement."

"Have it your way," Smithers drew his hands out of his pockets. "I'll call you," He said to Hallie. Josiah and Ezra parted so he could get out of the door.


	5. Chapter 5

"So now what?" Hallie asked as she stood between Chris and Buck.

"We wait," Chris said and moved into his office. Hallie followed. She closed his office door behind her.

"Wait for what, Chris? If you think Arnoldo is going to come after me, then Smithers is correct in assuming you and the others aren't safe. I have other places I can go to get away from Arnoldo. There are people that will hide me."

Chris took a seat behind his desk and turned on his computer. "There are people here who will not only hide you, Hallie, but see to it that Medina pays for what he did. You're safe here."

Chris ignored her and typed on his computer. Hallie threw her hands in the air at the exasperating way her brother was ignoring her. It reminded her of their teenage years when Chris would do everything in his power to ignore her until she got into trouble trying to get his attention.

"You're exasperating you know that? I'm not a kid anymore, Chris. I can leave here if I want to. In fact, that's what I'll do. I'll leave. I'll walk out the door, get Buck to take me to the airport, and I'll leave. I did it once before and I can sure enough do it again." Hallie turned toward the door and put her hand on the doorknob; she could feel the fear and the anger making her tremble.

"Hallie Grace Larabee!" Chris yelled at her. Hallie stopped. She knew better than to make any moves when her full name was used. "Turn around."

Hallie dropped her hand from the doorknob and let it fall to her side. With a slow tentative movement she turned around to face her brother. Chris had gotten up and was standing in front of her now. He put his hands on his shoulders and looked at her with his blue eyes. "You don't go anywhere without one of us with you. We can protect you, but I need you to trust us."

"I trust you," Hallie said feeling the tears build up in her eyes. "I trust Buck and I trust the others." She let out a breath; a sigh of resignation. "All right, I won't go anywhere without you or one of the others."

"Good." He kissed her square on the forehead and reached over to open the door for her. "Let's get something to eat. I'm starving."

* * *

The bad news came with JD an hour after they had all eaten dinner. Arnoldo Medina had disappeared and had a warrant out for his arrest.

"Did we honestly believe he was going to stay when he was going to be arrested for murder?" Ezra asked. "So now, what do we do?"

Chris looked around the room and caught Hallie's gaze. She had been curled up in a recliner since dinner. With her hair in a ponytail, she looked like that teenage kid he had tried so hard to ignore years ago. Now, he wanted more than anything to protect her.

"Buck, Ezra, come with me. Hallie, stay in the house with the others. Medina doesn't know where I live, but he could find out."

Chris took the front seat while Buck shuffled into the back of Ezra's Mustang and Chris entered the rental property address into Ezra's GPS. Ezra careened his way through traffic and finally into a residential area where the GPS told him he had reached his destination. The destination was a small house that didn't looked like it could fit into the Seven Investigation's office. Ezra pulled in front of the house and the three of them got out.

Yellow police tape blocked the front door. Buck held a flashlight while Chris stood in front of Ezra shielding anyone from the breaking an entering. Two minutes later they were in the house.

"Nice work," Chris said as they entered the small alcove that led into the kitchen.

"Well," Ezra said slipping the lock pit set into his shirt pocket. "I do take my work very seriously." The three men walked through the kitchen into the dining room. They held their flashlights low so the beam wouldn't be seen from outside.

The blood spot on the living room floor shown in Chris' flashlight beam and the outline of the body shown around the blood spot. Buck went around the outline and entered the living room. He turned to face Chris who was standing beside the outline. Medina had to be standing somewhere around here. Buck pulled his weapon from his pants; made sure the safety was on. He held it up.

"Medina shoots Egan just as Hallie Grace walks into the dining room. She doesn't wait to hear an explanation, but instead runs. With the body blocking the way, Hallie had a good few minutes of lead time."

"Why did he kill Egan?" Chris asked, scanning the darkened room. "Ezra, find his office. Buck and I will check the rest of the rooms and get a bag for Hallie."

There were three bedrooms in the house. Ezra had found one to be an office. Buck took the other room and Chris hit jackpot when he found the master bedroom. For a couple that had been together close to two years, Medina and Hallie kept no pictures of each other in the room. Chris swept the room starting with the nightstand and coming around to the main door. There was nothing to indicate Medina even stayed in the room. He had cleaned thoroughly before taking off. Chris grabbed a bag from the room's closet and threw it on the bed. Without taking much time to think about it he opened a drawer and threw clothes and unmentionables into it. He was hoping Hallie would be so grateful for clean clothes she wouldn't mention the fact that her brother had been through her underwear drawer. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he went back to the living room where Buck stood.

"Where's Ezra?" Chris asked.

"Right here." Ezra walked out of the office with a disk in his hand. "I copied what I could off his office computer. Shall we go, gentlemen?"

Even though the flashlight beam was aimed on the floor, Chris turned it off. "No lights. We exit like we entered."

Hallie sat on the porch swing, thinking about Adam and Sarah. Before she made the choice not to return, Hallie and Sarah had spent evenings on the porch watching Chris and Adam play or making fun of Buck and Chris when they were working on a "manly" project. She missed laughing with her sister-in-law. She missed hugging her nephew.

The screen door creaked bringing Hallie out of her thoughts. "I can leave if you want to be alone," Josiah said.

Hallie shook her head and scooted over to make room for him on the swing. "I've screwed up a lot in my life, Josiah, but falling in love with Arnoldo Medina could be my biggest screw up ever."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Hallie Grace. The heart wants what the heart wants; even if the head is screaming no."

Hallie dropped her foot to the floor and used it to push the swing. When she had a good sway going, she pulled her foot up under her again. "I got drunk and almost slept with Buck four years ago."

Josiah didn't say anything so Hallie continued. "I was celebrating my twenty-fourth birthday and had just gotten paid a large amount of money for a photo spread I did. I was staying with Chris and Sarah. When Buck turned me down, I felt. . ." She had felt humiliated and the next morning when the tequila left her with a hangover she felt humiliated and sick. "Horrible. I ran and never came back." Hallie looked down at her fingernails. She never painted them. "Sarah and Adam died a year later." She stopped picking at her fingernails and looked out into the night before her. "I was too chicken to come back here and come face to face with Buck. He's like another brother to me and I did something really stupid and embarrassing."

"Has he mentioned it since you've been home?" Josiah asked. He was looking out at the night like she was.

Hallie shook her head and let out a laugh. "He's too much the gentleman to mention something like that. Somehow Buck always comes out the gentleman. Only Buck." She finished her laugh.

Josiah laughed along with her. "I think we should go inside. Once Chris is back, we'll leave for the night."

"All right."

Hallie stood and froze. There was a shadow on the other side of the porch. Josiah saw it too.

"You're on private property, mister," Josiah said loud enough for anyone inside to hear.

Hallie swallowed, but the saliva didn't coat her throat.

The shadow came into view in the dimness of the porch light. "Rafe." Hallie said, in a whisper. He was holding a gun at his side. Hallie swallowed again. "Hallie, if you don't want your friend to get hurt you'll come back with me to see Arnoldo."

Hallie looked up at Josiah. His face was emotionless. "Rafe, I'm not going anywhere with you. Tell Arnoldo to turn himself in. Tell him that."

"I can't tell him that, Hallie. He pays me to take care of things for him."

"I'm not a thing, Rafe. I'm a person. You can't kill me."

Rafe nodded. "Not you, Hallie, no." His gun went off. Hallie tried to scream, but the sound didn't come from her throat. She watched Josiah fall against the swing. Hallie was too shocked to fight Rafe when he grabbed her. He jerked her over the porch railing where she had first seen him and dragged her through the woods to his vehicle.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER FIVE

"So now what?" Hallie asked as she stood between Chris and Buck.

"We wait," Chris said and moved into his office. Hallie followed. She closed his office door behind her.

"Wait for what, Chris? If you think Arnoldo is going to come after me, then Smithers is correct in assuming you and the others aren't safe. I have other places I can go to get away from Arnoldo. There are people that will hide me."

Chris took a seat behind his desk and turned on his computer. "There are people here who will not only hide you, Hallie, but see to it that Medina pays for what he did. You're safe here."

Chris ignored her and typed on his computer. Hallie threw her hands in the air at the exasperating way her brother was ignoring her. It reminded her of their teenage years when Chris would do everything in his power to ignore her until she got into trouble trying to get his attention.

"You're exasperating you know that? I'm not a kid anymore, Chris. I can leave here if I want to. In fact, that's what I'll do. I'll leave. I'll walk out the door, get Buck to take me to the airport, and I'll leave. I did it once before and I can sure enough do it again." Hallie turned toward the door and put her hand on the doorknob; she could feel the fear and the anger making her tremble.

"Hallie Grace Larabee!" Chris yelled at her. Hallie stopped. She knew better than to make any moves when her full name was used. "Turn around."

Hallie dropped her hand from the doorknob and let it fall to her side. With a slow tentative movement she turned around to face her brother. Chris had gotten up and was standing in front of her now. He put his hands on his shoulders and looked at her with his blue eyes. "You don't go anywhere without one of us with you. We can protect you, but I need you to trust us."

"I trust you," Hallie said feeling the tears build up in her eyes. "I trust Buck and I trust the others." She let out a breath; a sigh of resignation. "All right, I won't go anywhere without you or one of the others."

"Good." He kissed her square on the forehead and reached over to open the door for her. "Let's get something to eat. I'm starving."

The bad news came with JD an hour after they had all eaten dinner. Arnoldo Medina had disappeared and had a warrant out for his arrest.

"Did we honestly believe he was going to stay when he was going to be arrested for murder?" Ezra asked. "So now, what do we do?"

Chris looked around the room and caught Hallie's gaze. She had been curled up in a recliner since dinner. With her hair in a ponytail, she looked like that teenage kid he had tried so hard to ignore years ago. Now, he wanted more than anything to protect her.

"Buck, Ezra, come with me. Hallie, stay in the house with the others. Medina doesn't know where I live, but he could find out."

Chris took the front seat while Buck shuffled into the back of Ezra's Mustang and Chris entered the rental property address into Ezra's GPS. Ezra careened his way through traffic and finally into a residential area where the GPS told him he had reached his destination. The destination was a small house that didn't looked like it could fit into the Seven Investigation's office. Ezra pulled in front of the house and the three of them got out.

Yellow police tape blocked the front door. Buck held a flashlight while Chris stood in front of Ezra shielding anyone from the breaking an entering. Two minutes later they were in the house.

"Nice work," Chris said as they entered the small alcove that led into the kitchen.

"Well," Ezra said slipping the lock pit set into his shirt pocket. "I do take my work very seriously." The three men walked through the kitchen into the dining room. They held their flashlights low so the beam wouldn't be seen from outside.

The blood spot on the living room floor shown in Chris' flashlight beam and the outline of the body shown around the blood spot. Buck went around the outline and entered the living room. He turned to face Chris who was standing beside the outline. Medina had to be standing somewhere around here. Buck pulled his weapon from his pants; made sure the safety was on. He held it up.

"Medina shoots Egan just as Hallie Grace walks into the dining room. She doesn't wait to hear an explanation, but instead runs. With the body blocking the way, Hallie had a good few minutes of lead time."

"Why did he kill Egan?" Chris asked, scanning the darkened room. "Ezra, find his office. Buck and I will check the rest of the rooms and get a bag for Hallie."

There were three bedrooms in the house. Ezra had found one to be an office. Buck took the other room and Chris hit jackpot when he found the master bedroom. For a couple that had been together close to two years, Medina and Hallie kept no pictures of each other in the room. Chris swept the room starting with the nightstand and coming around to the main door. There was nothing to indicate Medina even stayed in the room. He had cleaned thoroughly before taking off. Chris grabbed a bag from the room's closet and threw it on the bed. Without taking much time to think about it he opened a drawer and threw clothes and unmentionables into it. He was hoping Hallie would be so grateful for clean clothes she wouldn't mention the fact that her brother had been through her underwear drawer. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he went back to the living room where Buck stood.

"Where's Ezra?" Chris asked.

"Right here." Ezra walked out of the office with a disk in his hand. "I copied what I could off his office computer. Shall we go, gentlemen?"

Even though the flashlight beam was aimed on the floor, Chris turned it off. "No lights. We exit like we entered."

Hallie sat on the porch swing, thinking about Adam and Sarah. Before she made the choice not to return, Hallie and Sarah had spent evenings on the porch watching Chris and Adam play or making fun of Buck and Chris when they were working on a "manly" project. She missed laughing with her sister-in-law. She missed hugging her nephew.

The screen door creaked bringing Hallie out of her thoughts. "I can leave if you want to be alone," Josiah said.

Hallie shook her head and scooted over to make room for him on the swing. "I've screwed up a lot in my life, Josiah, but falling in love with Arnoldo Medina could be my biggest screw up ever."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Hallie Grace. The heart wants what the heart wants; even if the head is screaming no."

Hallie dropped her foot to the floor and used it to push the swing. When she had a good sway going, she pulled her foot up under her again. "I got drunk and almost slept with Buck four years ago."

Josiah didn't say anything so Hallie continued. "I was celebrating my twenty-fourth birthday and had just gotten paid a large amount of money for a photo spread I did. I was staying with Chris and Sarah. When Buck turned me down, I felt. . ." She had felt humiliated and the next morning when the tequila left her with a hangover she felt humiliated and sick. "Horrible. I ran and never came back." Hallie looked down at her fingernails. She never painted them. "Sarah and Adam died a year later." She stopped picking at her fingernails and looked out into the night before her. "I was too chicken to come back here and come face to face with Buck. He's like another brother to me and I did something really stupid and embarrassing."

"Has he mentioned it since you've been home?" Josiah asked. He was looking out at the night like she was.

Hallie shook her head and let out a laugh. "He's too much the gentleman to mention something like that. Somehow Buck always comes out the gentleman. Only Buck." She finished her laugh.

Josiah laughed along with her. "I think we should go inside. Once Chris is back, we'll leave for the night."

"All right."

Hallie stood and froze. There was a shadow on the other side of the porch. Josiah saw it too.

"You're on private property, mister," Josiah said loud enough for anyone inside to hear.

Hallie swallowed, but the saliva didn't coat her throat.

The shadow came into view in the dimness of the porch light. "Rafe." Hallie said, in a whisper. He was holding a gun at his side. Hallie swallowed again. "Hallie, if you don't want your friend to get hurt you'll come back with me to see Arnoldo."

Hallie looked up at Josiah. His face was emotionless. "Rafe, I'm not going anywhere with you. Tell Arnoldo to turn himself in. Tell him that."

"I can't tell him that, Hallie. He pays me to take care of things for him."

"I'm not a thing, Rafe. I'm a person. You can't kill me."

Rafe nodded. "Not you, Hallie, no." His gun went off. Hallie tried to scream, but the sound didn't come from her throat. She watched Josiah fall against the swing. Hallie was too shocked to fight Rafe when he grabbed her. He jerked her over the porch railing where she had first seen him and dragged her through the woods to his vehicle.

Chapter Six

Every breath Hallie tried to catch in the chilly night air hurt her chest. Rafe had his hand securely around her wrist dragging her past the trees and through the bramble. He was a head taller than she was and the ponytail holder he used to tie back his long black hair had come undone and now it swayed back and forth in their sprint.

Even in the moonlight, Hallie recognized where they were. Rafe must have parked his car at the entrance of the driveway and ran through the woods to get to the house. They were almost to the entrance when Hallie purposely tripped on a root. She went down hard on to the ground, not bothering to brace herself. Her ribs sucked in the jolt from the fall.

"Get up!" Rafe screamed at her.

"I can't." Hallie cried out. Of course, she could but the longer she hesitated the faster one of the others would come to help her.

"I said," Rafe screamed again with a jerk of his hand on her wrist. "Get up." Hallie came to her feet just as bark splintered beside Rafe. Hallie screamed for real this time.

Rafe shot past her into the darkness and took off with Hallie again. Every step was a jolt to her rib cage. When they made the clearing, she saw Rafe's car. It was a four door dark sedan; common almost anywhere. Rafe opened the back door and shoved Hallie in. Another shot blasted the gravel around him. Rafe jumped in the driver's side and engaged the child safety locks so Hallie couldn't get out.

Hallie screamed when shards of laminated safety glass covered her when the back seat windshield exploded.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Chris saw the bulbous red and white flashing lights before he got close to his house. He pulled into the yard to make room for the ambulance and police vehicle to get out. Once the car was shut off, he jumped out of the car and ran up the porch steps, throwing the door open.

"What happened? Where's Hallie?" Chris asked the four men sitting on the couch. A medic was kneeling in front of Josiah working on his arm wound.

Vin pointed outside to the porch. Chris and Buck followed. "One of Arnie's men grabbed Hallie after shooting Josiah. It was a through and through, but enough for the guy to grab Hallie. Josiah said Hallie called him Rafe. I tracked 'em through the woods and Hallie gave me enough time to get close to them, but he got away."

"What do you mean," Buck asked. "Hallie gave you enough time to get close?"

Vin grinned. "She fell on purpose slowing 'em down. It was a dark four door sedan. This guy Rafe covered the license plate with mud or something to hide the plate number. I came back for a car, but they'd already gotten too far ahead of me. I'm sorry, Chris."

Chris slapped him on the shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, Vin. How long ago did this happen?"

"Not long after you left so I'd say forty-five minutes or so. Josiah said the guy was dark complected with black hair tied back. He told Hallie he was going to take her back to Arnoldo."

Buck's breathing was louder than a bull's. Minutes passed while Chris thought about what to do next. Arnoldo had found a place to hide; knew where Chris lived, grabbed Hallie to keep her quiet. His sister was in the hands of a man he didn't know or trust and that scared him.

There was no reason to hold Hallie for ransom so Chris couldn't play that angle. She witnessed a murder and wanted to testify against "Arnie". For all he knew, his little sister was already dead.

"No," Chris said out loud at the thought.

"What are you thinking, Chris?" Buck asked in a deep, angry voice.

"Vin, if Josiah needs to go to the hospital ask Nathan to go with him. Buck, grab Ezra and the disk." Smithers pulled up behind Chris' car in an unmarked police vehicle. Chris let out a sigh of resignation. "Have JD fill Smithers in on what happened." He aimed a disgusted look at Buck's friend. "If I'm around this guy for any length of time I might be arrested for murder." Chris took off down the stairs and around the corner of the house where the office for Seven Investigations was.

Smithers called after him. Buck jumped down from the porch and pressed a hand against Smithers' chest. "Not now, Martin." Buck said, still keeping his low, angry voice. "His sister's just been kidnapped by a man you were supposed to put in jail. Do us a favor and go find another job you're more suited for." Buck started off in Chris' direction while Vin went inside.

Chris was in his office at his computer when Ezra came in with the others. "How's Josiah?" He asked.

"Nathan followed him to the hospital. The only messed up about Josiah is his attitude. He's pissed, Chris." JD said.

"It wasn't his fault," Chris told them. He moved from his desk so Ezra could sit down. Ezra slipped the disk into the computer and pulled up the files.

"What's all this?" Buck asked as they looked at the glowing screen.

Ezra tapped on the down arrow. "These, Mr. Wilmington, are transactions made by Mr. Medina. The deposits and withdrawals are in all the standard issue banking logs."

Vin pointed to a bolded withdrawal. The date, withdrawal price, and name were in bold. The same amount was bolded for the previous month and the month after. "Who's Mike Kagan?"

"He's a rookie cop." Another voice answered the question. They looked up to see Martin Smithers standing in Chris' doorway. "He was shot and killed last month in his driveway. Poor kid; his little girl had just gone into remission."

Chris spread his gaze over the others and then stopped at Ezra. "The timing of his death fits with the timing of his last payment." Ezra answered Chris' unspoken question. "Detective Smithers, your Officer Kagan was on the take; probably needed money for his daughter." Chris could empathize. If Adam had been really sick, he would have done anything to make him well.

"Medina killed him or had him killed and Egan found out about it." Ezra said.

"Or knew all along," Vin said, "And just this morning decided to confront Medina about it."

Chris leaned up and shook his head. "It tells us why Egan was killed, but not where Hallie is."

"There's more," Ezra said as he entered another file. "Properties."


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Hallie kept her cool as Rafe walked closely beside her into the unfamiliar house. Her head was throbbing, her black eye hurt, and she felt the safety glass from the shattered windshield coating her hair and clothes. She wanted a shower, she wanted a pain reliever, she wanted to be anywhere but here.

Hallie had woken from her unconscious state as Rafe was pulling into a garage. He then pulled her out of the car and led her through a screened door into an anteroom. From the anteroom, he led her through another door into the kitchen. Through the kitchen was the living room area. That's where Rafe stopped her in front of Arnoldo. Her former boyfriend stood from the chair he was sitting in. Hallie watched him walk toward her. His black hair shined from natural luster and his dark eyes seemed darker to her than before. Hallie grimaced as he touched her chin and turned her head from side to side.

"Did Rafe do this to you?" He asked, gently grazing his fingertips over her black eye.

"No, he just gave me the lump on the side of my head. Being pistol whipped isn't my most favorite thing in the world, Arnoldo."

Arnoldo pushed Hallie aside and slapped Rafe. His right hand man took a step back, but controlled himself and met Arnoldo's gaze. "She was trying to get the gun from me," Rafe explained. "I had no choice."

"I was trying to keep you from killing an innocent man," Hallie defended herself. She looked to Arnoldo and then to his bodyguard still standing by the chair Arnoldo got up from. "Tell them both to go away. I want to speak with you."

Arnoldo nodded at the guard and gave Rafe an evil look. Both men took the stairs to the second floor.

When they were gone, Hallie slapped Arnoldo. Arnoldo took a step back. "My little fireball," He said, under his breath.

"That was for Josiah Sanchez." She started to slap him again and he caught her wrist dragging it down between them. Hallie was breathing hard. Arnoldo brought his face close to hers and kissed her nose. Hallie closed her eyes and evened her breathing. She brought her knee up connecting with his groin. Arnoldo gasped and dropped his grasp on Hallie's wrist. He buckled and Hallie shoved him back onto his butt. She threw open the front door in the living room and ran outside.

It was pitch black outside. Hallie took only a second to stop and get her bearings before she ran down the street flagging down cars. A car came toward her, shining the headlights right in her face. Hallie shielded herself while still running toward it waving her arms. The car stopped and Hallie waited for the click of the car door unlocking before jumping in.

"Thanks," She said as she settled into the seat.

The radio was blasting hard rock. "Where too?" The man asked.

"D.C. police deparment. Do you have a cell phone I can borrow? I need to call my brother."

"Sure," The man handed her the phone while he stepped on the gas and took them down the street.

As Hallie dialed, she noticed the car pulled into Arnoldo's house. She paused with her finger over the number five.

The pleasant looking Caucasian man turned off the car, took his cell phone from Hallie's hand and showed her a gun. "You must be Hallie Larabee." He smiled showing brilliant white teeth. "I'm Jack, Arnoldo's new bodyguard."

"Ah, crap!" Hallie hung her head and began to cry.


	9. Chapter 9

Chris looked over the printout of addresses Ezra had given each of them. They were all three in the Virginia area.

"This one's a former safe house," Martin Smithers spoke up about the last address on the list. "I'm not sure of the other addresses." He grabbed his phone from his jacket pocket and began dialing. "I can have several officers at each address to check it out."

Vin grabbed Martin's phone. "If Arnie hears sirens or sees cops, Hallie won't have a chance of making it out alive. We have to do this on our own."

"_Arnoldo_ Medina," Martin said, clarifying the man's full name. "is a dangerous man who has already killed two people that we know of. You need to let the police handle it."

Buck sidled off the edge of Chris' desk. "Yeah," he said. "because the police have done such a wonderful job in the first place. If you had investigated properly into Kagan's death, maybe you would have found out he was on the take before anyone else had to die."

"Enough!" Chris shouted. "Hallie Grace should be the only person on our minds right now. Ezra, Vin, take the first address. JD, call Nathan and have him meet you at the second address. Buck and I will take the old safe house."

"I'll have an officer meet them at each address," Martin told them. "As for you and Buck, I'll go with you two. If something does go wrong, it will be better to have an officer on the scene."

"Fine," Chris shoved the paper in his pocket. "Let's go."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Hallie woke up in the basement of the house. Her head hurt and her hands were tied. Jack had knocked her out after driving into the garage. Just her luck, the one person she would flag down to help her worked for the man she was trying to flee from. The basement was clean, but dark and musty. There was a rectangular size hole close to the ceiling Hallie took to be a window. It was still dark outside so she hadn't been unconscious too long. Hallie sat down in the corner and closed her eyes.

_"Hallie, we can't," Buck said, pulling her hands away from his face. "As much as I want to, darlin', I'm not going to sleep with you."_

_ "Ah, Buck," Hallie pouted. Her lower lip protruded over her upper one. It was her birthday and she wanted a special gift from Buck. "Just 'cause I'm drunk don't mean I'm drunk." She hiccupped and slapped her hand over her mouth. "'scuse me." She dropped her hand and grinned at him. Her hands found the buttons of his shirt again and she began undoing them; one by one. "I want you, Buck. I've wanted you for a long, long, long time." After unbuttoning his shirt, Hallie pulled her sweater over her head, revealing her white lace bra. "Take me, Buck," Hallie said with a giggle as she threw the sweater over the bed. "Take me now!" _

_ She watched him look at her, trying hard to keep his eyes on her face. "Hallie Grace," He said in a low voice. He cleared his throat and picked her sweater up from the floor. "Hallie Grace, put your sweater back on and we will never talk about this again." He handed her the pink cotton sweater and got off the bed. "Never again, Hallie Grace. To anyone." Buck turned, opened her bedroom door, and walked out._

_ The next day, she left town._

Chris and Vin parked two houses down at an empty house. The safe house was in the midst of a residential neighborhood. The sidewalks were quiet, houses had their lights turned off ready for bed. Chris slipped the binoculars up to his face and zoomed in. He pulled the binoculars away and scanned the blueprints of the safe house. "The garage has a door that leads into the house. We could get in through there."

His cell phone rang. The second call in forty minutes. A check of the caller ID showed it was Vin. "Yeah," he answered, curtly.

"It's just a house. Not a soul inside or out. There's even a for sale sign on the front lawn. What about the others?"

"The same. Looks like the safe house is our best bet. We're parked two houses down from the safe house. Find a parking spot and meet us at the car. Hurry."

Chris kept his eyes on the house and his mind on Hallie.

_"You're leaving." He said, with a hint of disbelief in his voice. "You just got here, Hallie Grace." _

_ "I know," Hallie said as she packed. "But a photo job has come up in Spain and I want it. It's a lot of money, Chris. Money I can use."_

_ Chris shoved his hands into his pockets. "If it's money you need, I can loan you some. Sarah's really enjoyed having you here and you've been great with Adam."_

_ Hallie dropped her toiletries into her suitcase. She sat down on the bed and put her head in her hands. Chris didn't know what was wrong, but he sat down on the edge of the bed and put his arm around her. "What's wrong, Hallie?"_

_ "I screwed things up," She said into her hands. "Oh, Chris, I really screwed it up this time."_

_ "Hey," He pulled her hands from her face. "Whatever you did, can be fixed. Did something happen last night after we left the restaurant?" His blue eyes were more intense now. "Did someone say or do something to you."_

_ Hallie shook her head and Chris felt a surge of relief. "It's nothing like that. I just got the call for this job and I took it. It's Spain, Chris. Ole!" The 'Ole!' was followed by a river of tears and Chris pulled her into his shoulder and held her while she cried._

"I never knew why." Chris said as he dropped the binoculars from his eyes.

"Never knew what?" Buck asked from beside him.

"Why Hallie left four years ago. She said it was because of a job, but I think there was more to it. Until this morning, I never saw her to ask."

"Um, Chris," Buck cleared his throat and wiped at his mustache. "There's something. . ." Buck stopped when Vin knocked on Chris' window. "We pulled in right behind JD and Nathan. How do you want to play this?"

"I have an arrest on sight order for Arnoldo based on Hallie's statement and the fact that he kidnapped the only witness. We can go in right now."

"Sounds good to me," Vin said. "What about Hallie?"

"If she's in the house, I'll find her," Buck said. "You all go for Medina and his men. I'll go for Hallie."

Chris handed Buck his keys. "When you get Hallie, get her somewhere safe. When things are under control here, I'll call you."

Buck nodded and pocketed the keys.

"Okay," Chris said. He nodded at Smithers who opened the car door. "Let's do this."

Hallie sat in the grungy floor of the basement hugging her knees to her chest. She was still wearing Cassy's clothes, which now were streaked with dirt and her own blood. Her hair hadn't been washed since before her car accident and now hung limply around her face. Even slipping it behind her ear did no good.

Her thoughts were racing toward Buck and Chris when the basement door opened. Hallie stayed where she was, afraid to move. A male figure took each step slowly as he walked down to the basement floor. Hallie bit her lip when she saw it was Rafe.

"Arnoldo wishes to speak to you," He said and jerked her up by the arm.


	11. Chapter 11

Since Hallie was bound, she let Rafe lead her up the basement steps and into the warmth of the house. Arnoldo was sitting in the living room. The gray pallor his face had taken on when she kneed him was now replaced with his olive skin color.

"You did a wonderful job of trying to escape," Arnoldo said from his chair with his new bodyguard, Jack, standing next to him. The chair was backed against a window. The curtains were drawn so Arnoldo looked like a king sitting on his throne.

"Did your boys come back to play, and I don't just mean your bodyguards?" Hallie teased him with a smile on his face. The comment made Arnoldo grimace which made Hallie smile even larger.

Arnoldo stood, still shaky, and walked up to Hallie. He pinched her chin between his thumb and forefinger. "Would you like to see just how quickly _my boys_ came back?" His eyes washed over her body in the dirty clinging clothes that Cassy had given her that same day. "Come with me, Hallie Grace," He grabbed her elbow and pulled her along.

"No, Arnoldo, no!" Hallie yelled as she tried to fight him with her hands behind her back. "Don't do this," She cried as he dragged her down the hallway.

The doorbell didn't stop him. Even a loud noise from the back of the house didn't stop him. Arnoldo dragged her into the bedroom and threw her down on the bed. Hallie pressed her knees against her chest and kicked out hoping to get Arnoldo in the chest. She didn't.

With horror in her eyes, Hallie watched Arnoldo unbuckle his belt. Hallie squirmed on the bed and Arnoldo climbed up and pinned her hips with his. Hallie couldn't move and the added weight on her body made her arms feel as if they were going to break at her shoulders.

A sob caught in her throat as she watched Arnoldo's face come closer to hers. She closed her eyes and then salvation came in the form of a broken down door.

"Get off her!" A man yelled. Hallie opened her eyes to see Vin dragging Arnoldo off her body and onto the carpet.

Ezra came to stand beside Vin. "Put that away before one of us shoots it off," Ezra said. Hallie thought she understood Ezra's meaning and a tear rolled down the side of her face as she realized how close she had come to being raped.

"Hallie Grace," Then Buck's warming words came into the room and she struggled to get off the bed. He helped her stand and untied the ropes from her wrists. When she was free to move her hands again, Hallie hugged him.

"It's all right now, darlin'." He said in his smooth, gentle voice that she had always loved. "You're all right."

"Get her outta here, Buck," Vin said, and Hallie found herself being led down the hallway and out a busted back door. She could hear men's voices coming from the living room as Buck led her out the back door and into the night air.

Nathan was standing outside on the lawn with an officer. He nodded toward Buck and moved the officer toward the porch. With Hallie's hand in his, he ran toward Chris' vehicle.

"What about Chris?" Hallie asked as Buck shoved her into the back seat of the car.

"He'll be along later," Buck got into the driver's side and started the vehicle. As he drove down the street, Hallie watched as Arnoldo, Jack, and two other of Arnoldo's bodyguards were led out of the house by police officers and Detective Smithers.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Hallie leaned against her seat and watched the yellow line of the pavement before them disappear under the car faster than they went into it. Buck hadn't said a word since he put her in the car and Hallie was in desperate need of voices so she unbuckled her seat belt and leaned over the seat to turn on the radio.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Buck asked, grabbing her hand as it turned the knob for the radio.

"I want to hear something else besides this voice in my head." Hallie turned the knob and found a country music station. She left it on the station, but turned it down low and then returned to her seat.

"You want to come up here?" Buck asked.

Hallie literally jumped at the invitation and slid over the seat expertly and into the passenger side seat. She clicked on her seatbelt before getting comfortable. "Where are we going?"

"We're driving until Chris calls to say everything's all right." A vehicle passed them on the road. Hallie flinched.

"You all right, Hallie Grace?"

Hallie saw a man killed, was run off the road, put into the hospital, kidnapped, tied up in a basement, and almost raped. "Yeah, I'm fine." There was still a nagging feeling in the back of her brain about the men that were brought out of Arnoldo's place. She couldn't put her finger on it though.

Buck swept his eyes over her face quickly and then returned them to the road. "Do you want to talk about what happened back there?"

"No," She took a breath. "Chris can never know, Buck. Promise me."

"He won't hear it from me, Hallie Grace, I promise."

"I tried to stop him. I fought back, I did. If Vin hadn't come in when he did. . ." She stopped, afraid she would cry. She had never cried in front of Buck.

They entered a town, but because Buck didn't tell her where they were going, she wasn't sure what town they were in. "I have to use the restroom," She said, realizing she hadn't gone since being kidnapped.

"We could both use a break anyway. We'll find something to eat at the convenience store." Buck hit the blinker and pulled over into an all night gas station and convenience store. He parked as close to a lighted area as he could and they both got out. Buck pulled his shirt out of his pants to hide the gun he carried in his back.

"Buck, something's bothering me about tonight." Hallie told him this as they waited at the ladies room for the woman before her to finish. "Something was wrong."

Buck grabbed a bottle of water and turned to her. "What do you mean?"

The woman came out, smiled at Hallie and disappeared into an aisle. Hallie grabbed the bag of chips hanging from a rack and threw them to Buck. "I'll be out in a second."

Buck picked up another bottle of water, the bag of chips Hallie threw to him, and a couple candy bars. He checked his cell phone while the attendant rang them up. It was on, but no messages from Chris.

"Here," Hallie set a box of nutrition bars onto the loot Buck had picked up. He grimaced when he saw them.

"We have to eat at least one healthy thing," She said and smiled at him. The attendant rang up the order and Buck paid.

"You were saying something about tonight feeling off to you?" Buck said as the attendant counted out the change into his palm.

Hallie furrowed her brow. "Maybe it's the photographer in me, but the scene didn't look right. Has Chris called yet?"

"Not a peep. I thought he would have called by now." Buck grabbed the bag and followed Hallie out of the store. "If we don't hear from him soon, we'll have to stop somewhere else. . ."

"Hallie Grace!" Hallie turned at her name and saw the flash of light before she felt the pain in her chest. She fell back into Buck, who dropped the bag he was holding and reached for his gun.

The screamer got another shot off, this time shattering the glass window behind Buck. Buck didn't hesitate before unloading his gun into the screamer's chest.

He dropped his gun beside him and grabbed Hallie in his arms. Her face was ashen white against the red top she wore; the blood staining it black.

Her eyes met his. "Buck?"

Buck pushed the hair from her face. "Hold on, Hallie Grace. Don't leave me." He looked around. "SOMEONE HELP ME! HELP ME!"

The woman from the bathroom came up behind him startling him. "What can I do?" She asked.

The attendant followed seconds later. "I called the police."

"What can I do?" The woman was now on her knees next to Hallie.

"Hold her," Buck said. "I'll be right back." He deposited Hallie into the woman's arms, picked up his gun, and ran the few feet to the dead man. Looking down, Buck recognized him right off. Understanding now what Hallie had meant by the picture being off back at the safe house. They had gotten everyone but Rafe. That's why Chris hadn't called. They were searching for Rafe.

Forgetting fingerprints, Buck picked Rafe's gun up and ran back to Hallie. He could hear his friend struggling for air. The woman had her arms around Hallie while the attendant was applying pressure to the wound.

"I don't know if I'm doing this right!" He said, in almost a cry.

Buck put his hand on the young man's shoulder and leaned down. "You're doing just fine, son. How ya doing, Hallie Grace?"

Hallie moved her mouth, but no words came out. Her hand dropped to the sidewalk. Buck picked it up and held it in both of his, warming it. "Helps coming, darlin'. Hold on for me. Just hold on, Hallie Grace."

By the time the ambulance came, Buck had left messages on six cell phones. None of them had picked up and he swore at each one of them during the message.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Chris took the corner of the ICU ward like a NASCAR driver. He stopped only when a nurse got in his way.

"Hallie Grace Larabee," Chris said kneeding his hands into his jeans. "She's somewhere here. I'm her brother."

They had searched for Rafe after realizing the man that shot Josiah wasn't in the group. They searched the block, they searched the surrounding areas. The thought of contacting Buck about it had never crossed his mind and now that he was watching Hallie through the glass of an ICU room he realized he should have done just that.

Chris slid the glass door back and felt the warm air hit him in the face. He stepped in and closed the door behind him. Buck was sitting by Hallie's side, holding her hand. His shirt was streaked in blood, his eyes calm. Josiah sat in the corner with a sling holding his left arm in place. He wore a surgical scrub top. When Chris caught his gaze, Josiah stood. "I need to take a walk," He whispered to Chris and left just as quietly as Chris entered.

Chris stood at the foot of Hallie's hospital bed. An oxygen mask covered half her face, her strawberry blond hair lay limp against the white pillow.

"He'd been following us since we left the safe house," Buck said, still keeping his eyes on Hallie. He wiped his hand through his hair, making a dent in the black mane. "He called out to her like you would call out to a person you haven't seen in years and then he shot her." Buck looked up at Chris this time. "She held on, Chris. She fought to stay conscious, she fought to breathe."

"Buck," Chris laid his hand on Buck's shoulder and squeezed. "Why don't you take a break? I'll sit with her."

"We were joking around, Chris, and he just shot her. He just shot her."

"The others are downstairs, Buck. I want to sit with her for a while."

"He just shot her," Buck repeated as he left the room.

Chris took Buck's chair and Hallie's hand. The other held an IV. He wasn't there ten minutes when Cassy came in.

"I saw the others downstairs," Cassy explained as she stared at Hallie. "Her doctor is Julian Ormond. I spoke with him. Chris, it's serious."

Chris looked up at her. She was wearing surgical scrubs the color of Josiah's. Her blond hair was back in a ponytail, but her face was serious.

Chris nodded. "I know. I just want to sit with her for a while. I was in the waiting room the day she was born. I was bored out of my mind, but then the nurse told me to come meet my new sister." He paused. "Did you know she's named after my paternal grandparents, Hal and Grace Larabee?"

Cassy pressed a kiss against his temple. "I'll let the nurse's station know you're in here so you won't be disturbed. When it happens, Chris, I'll have them page me. I'll do whatever I can for you."

Chris nodded. He kissed Hallie's knuckles and watched as Cassy left.

A little over an hour passed when Hallie started to stir. It woke Chris up. He rubbed her arm and watched as her eyes opened. "Hey, sweetheart."

She reached for the oxygen mask and pulled it down. "I'm sorry," Her voice cracked when she spoke. "I didn't realize he was gone."

"It's not your fault." He moved his hand from her arm to her forehead, rubbing a horizontal line between her immaculate brows. It soothed her.

"Is Buck okay?"

Chris nodded. "He's fine. We're all fine."

Hallie forehead crinkled. "Honest?" It made Chris laugh.

"Honest."

Hallie licked her lips. "Tell Josiah I didn't mean to get him shot."

"He can handle it," Chris told her.

"Tell Buck I'm sorry about that night."

Now it was time for Chris to crinkle his forehead. "What night?"

"He'll know. Tell 'im I love him. Like you. Like a brother." Hallie said and her breath became labored. Chris positioned the oxygen mask over her mouth.

Hallie said something that was distorted by the oxygen mask. He took it off.

"I said I'm glad you're my brother." She managed a smile.

"I'm glad you're my sister." He put the oxygen mask over her face again. "Now get some sleep." Chris kissed her on the forehead and took hold of her hand again.

When morning dawned, Chris was still sitting with Hallie. The oxygen mask and IV were gone. There was no need for them anymore because half an hour before dawn, Hallie Grace's heart monitor had went off and woken him. He knew she wasn't going to make it from the moment he walked in to her room, but it still frightened him when it happened.

When a nurse and an orderly came into the room, Chris found himself getting up and leaving the room. Cassy was sitting in one of the chairs flipping through a magazine. When he saw her, she stood.

"Do you want me to take you home?" She asked.

Chris shook his head. "The others are somewhere in the hospital."

Cassy shook her head. "I gave them the news after it happened. Vin said they would meet you back at your house."

"Sarah, Adam, and now Hallie Grace." Chris hung his head.

Cassie looped her arm through his elbow and laid her head against his shoulder. "I'll take you home, Chris."

THE END! Thanks to all who commented. This was my first MAG7 fanfic.


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